The New Cool

On Monday, as our final group left early in the morning, we started the renovation of replacing our aging walk-in cooler and freezer units. Once the cooler box was dismantled and removed we found the interior to be in better shape than expected. Dismantling the freezer box is next, once it thaws out...

Emily Bowman and Melissa Brubacher will be supplying some feminine muscle to help us complete the project by Christmas. Thanks ladies!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Our vintage 1970s era walk-in cooler and freezer will both be replaced this December. They were purchased used from a major BC grocery retailer and installed in the brand new Squeah Lodge in 1975. After 38 years we are retiring our faithful cold storage.

Today we received the new boxes. They were unloaded and will be stored until the end of November when the kitchen shuts down over December for the renovation.

Dan Friesen coordinates the unloading of the panels.

Dave Wismath and Geoff Gould jump into action to take the crates apart.

All panels unloaded and stored until November 25th (start for our renovation).

Peter Pumpkinhead

Our new-this-year Head Chef Tony Thompson decided to give pumpkins a try this year in the Squeah garden. I had my doubts, but God made sure we got something out of the patch this Fall.

We only grew one, but it's a biggie.

Squeah Goes Whole Hog

We recently were donated 3 whole pigs from MennoFarmer Walter Bergen (6 Masters Farm). It totalled about 350 lbs. of meat. We had Johnston's Meats in Chilliwack do the butchering, but our new Head Chef Tony Thompson wanted to cut down the halfs himself. It has been 30+ years since Tony has been a butcher, but he was up to the task. Here is a photo of the 3 pigs/6 halfs that we picked up from Johnston's. Tony was surprised how much he remembered from "back in the day" and made short work of the little oinkers.

Everything Old is New Again

The last phase of our kitchen renovations is almost complete. We put in a new air handling system in December 2012. This included new exhaust hoods, an upgraded fire suppression system, a condensate canopy for the dishwasher, and a new make-up air & exhaust system. Pictures posted below...

 

Dish pit with condensate canopy to exhaust the steam from the dishwasher.

 

 

New exhaust hood, oven side.

 

New exhaust hoods with fire suppression system.

Let's be Rational

Today we officially christened our newest piece of equipment in the Squeah kitch, our Rational SCC61 combi oven. Rational sent out an executive chef to provide a start-up demo for us, laying a foundation in which we can begin using the unit. We are very excited about the possibilities this gives us. Be prepared for even better things to come out of the Squeah kitchen in the months to come.

Change is the New Status Quo

"Change", it's a scary word that most people avoid, especially in the faith community. Perhaps you've heard the joke:
Q: How many (insert denomination) does it take to change a light bulb?
A: CHANGE?!?

I always tell people if you work with me you'd better be comfortable with change. I'm always looking for ways to do things better, more efficiently, more effectively, nicer. I came on board to Camp Squeah at a most opportune time: we are transitioning from a camp to a year-round camp & retreat centre. So my first 2 years here have been all about change. The kitchen has been transformed: new equipment, new stainless steel workstations, new kitchen flooring, reconfigured dish pit, and different processes.

Our latest change? Dishwares. We've updated our old china place settings with new, contemporary white china. We are very happy with the change and we think our guests will be too.

That was then...

Desert Sand with brown rim

 

This is now:

Classic white

 

 

 

 

If you miss the old china, we've transferred it over to Edelweiss Hall.

Reid Nickerson
Food Services Manager